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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been demonstrated in hundreds of studies to be an effective treatment for a variety of disorders and problems for adults, older adults, children and adolescents. Below is a list of disorders for which CBT is effective, followed by sources.

ADULTS

CBT has been clinically demonstrated through randomized controlled trials to be an effective treatment for the following disorders and problems:

Depression

Geriatric Depression

Relapse Prevention

Anxiety

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Panic Disorder

Agoraphobia and Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia

Social Anxiety / Social Phobia

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Trauma)

Withdrawal from Anti-Anxiety Medications

Dental Phobia

Bipolar Disorder

(in combination with medication)

Eating Disorders

Binge-eating disorder

Bulimia

Anorexia

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

(extreme dissatisfaction with body image)

Somatization Disorder
Substance Abuse

Cocaine abuse (CBT relapse prevention is effective)

Opiate Dependence

Smoking Cessation (Group CBT is effective, as well as CBT that has multiple treatment components, in combination with relapse prevention)

INITIAL STUDIES

CBT has been clinically demonstrated to be an effective treatment in case series, same-investigator studies, or studies without a control group for the following problems and disorders (among adults unless otherwise noted):

Geriatric Anxiety

Schizophrenia (in combination with medication)

Dissociative Disorders

Suicide attempts

Substance/alcohol abuse

Attention deficit disorder

Caregiver distress

Habit disorders

Medically related disorders:

Migraine headaches

Non-cardiac chest pain

Cancer pain

Pain relating to a disease that has no known cause (Idiopathic pain)

Hypochondriasis, or the unsubstantiated belief that one has a serious medical condition

Chronic pain (among children/adolescents)

Hypertension (CBT is effective as an adjunctive treatment)

Fibromyalgia

Colitis

Gulf War Syndrome

Tinnitus

CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

CBT has been clinically demonstrated in randomized controlled trials to be an effective treatment for the following disorders and problems:

Separation anxiety

Avoidant disorder

Overanxious disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Phobias

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Conduct disorder (oppositional defiant disorder)

Distress due to medical procedures (mainly for cancer)

Recurrent abdominal pain

Physical complaints not explained by a medical condition (Somatoform disorders)